Flotilla's Goal Was Not Humanitarian
A Commentary by Debra J. Saunders
On CNN earlier this week, American Edward Peck, an activist who sailed with the Free Gaza Movement flotilla, asserted, "The purpose of the movement was humanitarian."
Sorry, but the video of so-called peace activists clubbing Israeli soldiers and tossing one onto a lower deck didn't exactly exude the Kumbaya spirit to me.
While Peck argued that the flotilla was not "hostile," its goal was provocative -- to break Israel's military embargo against Hamas. Activists knew they were taunting a standing army.
They also knew they couldn't lose. Israel already delivers food and other relief to the Gaza Strip. As for the PR war, even before Israeli forces boarded the Gaza armada, the Jerusalem Post reported, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told supporters, "If the ships reach Gaza, it's a victory for Gaza. If they are intercepted and terrorized by the Zionists, it will be a victory for Gaza, too, and they will move again in new ships to break the siege of Gaza."
And I don't think some American and European activists minded being linked with terrorists. When anchor Rick Sanchez had asked Peck if the flotilla organizers had ties to al-Qaida, Peck answered, "No. Are some of the people on it involved? That is possible."
When journalists interviewed the brother of Furkan Dogan, 19, a Turkish American who was killed during the melee and whose body was returned to Turkey, The New York Times reported that the brother replied, "We didn't expect him to come back like this. However, we were not sorry to hear that he fell like a martyr." Be it noted, the usual way to become a martyr in the Middle East is to die while trying to kill other people. So spare me the "humanitarian" conceit.
Sure, Americans and Europeans who boarded the flotilla may tell themselves that they simply wanted to bring food, medical supplies and cement -- barred by Israel lest it be used to build bunkers or tunnels -- to Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants, but at some point, they will have to recognize that they also were serving as tools for men who were prepared to martyr themselves. And in so doing, they have aided extremists who want to move Turkey into the arms of radical Islam.
As Our Betters in Europe pounced on Israel, President Obama has been wise to refrain. There's no need to jump on Israel. Israelis know that, at best, their military blundered by underestimating the threat and ultimately playing into the hands of extremists looking for a public-relations victory.
Other Israelis question the embargo itself. In banning the importation of such innocent goods as instant coffee, dried fruit and nutmeg, as well as the export of Gaza agricultural produce, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gambled that Palestinians would see no future in Hamas and turn on its leaders. That gamble has not paid off.
But then it's hard to win when there are so many guns pointed at your back, and you are held to standards not applied to the true despots of the world, who are not afraid to bite back.
Think about it. A team of international investigators found that North Korea sank a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors. But I don't think you'll see many American peace activists on a flotilla to North Korea.
COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
See Other Political Commentary
See Other Commentary by Debra J. Saunders
Views expressed in this column are those of the author, not those of Rasmussen Reports.
Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.
We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.
Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.
To learn more about our methodology, click here.